Houston Autorama – Thanksgiving Texas Tradition

Welcome to the Houston Autorama show. For the last half century plus, this show has built a Lone Star State Thanksgiving tradition amongst locals and out of town travelers alike. The massive automotive festival takes place in the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Inside the monstrous and beautiful facility, more than 400 custom rides gather upon hallowed hot rod grounds over the Thanksgiving weekend to give thanks for wicked rides and the builders and companies that support them.

The show welcomes drivable art in multiple categories, including hot rods, motorcycles, and of course, trucks. Houston Autorama operates as a candy-paint magnet, drawing passionate and talented builders from all over the globe to display their work for the masses. All of this thoroughly organized madness is managed by none other the Championship Auto Show Inc. and holds membership with the International Show Cars Association. It’s all quite official as you can tell.

Throughout the Autorama’s four days of operation, a cornucopia of mini-events provide entertainment to the lovers of all things internal-combustion. The list of festival activities includes a Pin-Up girl contest, live “chop-shop” demo which features the legendary Gene Whitfield, live true Texas music, a swap meet, a “cruise in” (outside the event on it’s final day), Dan Kruse Classics collector auction, and certainly last but not least, the official Slam’d Mag shootout corral where all genres gather side-by-side for a lovely display of exquisite LOWS.

Within the massive event, hundreds and hundreds of vendors arrive to provide fantastic products and innovations related to your custom automotive cravings. Present are, powder coating specialists, pinstripe artists, merchandise and vintage memorabilia vendors, and countless others. All of these industry providers reside under one gigantic roof. Attendees can even expect to rub elbows with some fun-loving automotive celebrities, such as Counting Cars’ Horny Mike, Chip Foose, and plenty others on hand throughout the long holiday weekend.

The Houston Autorama is one of the single greatest incarnations of true custom culture being displayed with a culmination of both east and west. While backyard meets and early morning events can be delightful, there is something to be said for such indoor extravagance and display of automotive greatness. This brings all the best of the business, to one incredible stage – literally what hot rod dreams are made of. See you there next year, and sign up early to take part in the Slam’d Mag Shootout as spots fill up quick!

Support Our Partners

Related Articles

Slam’d Worldwide

We span the globe and cover the very best in automotive builds, videos, tech, elegant features, and events. Featuring high-quality content from the US, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, Europe, the UK, and more.